Bi Family History

Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 畢 originally denoting a kind of hand-net used in hunting or meaning ‘to complete’ in ancient Chinese: (i) from the placename Bi (畢) the name of a fief (located in present-day Shaanxi province) which was granted to Bi Gong Gao (畢公高 or Duke of Bi) the 15th son of the virtuous King Wen of Zhou (1152–1056 BC). (ii) adopted as a surname by the Chu Lian (出連) family from the Xianbei ethnic group in northern China during the Northern Wei dynasty (386–534 AD). Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 秘 (also pronounced as Bei or Mi in Mandarin in some local regions) meaning ‘secret’ in Chinese: surname traced back to some powerful clans in the Qiang minority ethnic group in ancient western China. Chinese: Teochew form of the surname 米 see Mai This pronunciation is found in eastern Guangdong province from where some people migrated to Singapore Malaysia and Thailand. Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 費 (also pronounced as Fei in Mandarin pinyin). See Fei Chinese: Mandarin form of the surname 閉 meaning ‘close’ in Chinese: surname mainly found among the Zhuang ethnic group (located in present-day Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region) said to be adopted by migrants from the present-day Shangdong province. Vietnamese (Bì): from the Chinese surname 皮 see Pi 7: In some cases also West African (Ghana): Akan name perhaps from a personal name based on Twi (or a related dialect of the Akan language) bi ‘another’.

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022